is it safe to carry twins to 39/40 weeks?

im all for keeping these babies in as long as needed and im currently 34 w 5 days. so far i havent had any known complications which is great and my babies are di//di. what concerns me is placenta degrading and other issues i have heard can happen late in twin pregnancy. im currently seeing my ob weekly and having nsts and bpp once a week. but my ultrasound tech doesnt seem very thorough at all! seriously for the bpp she just makes sure they each at least flinch or make somekind of movement and thats it. less than 2 minutes and shes done. im just concerned that if there was something going to happen hiw would they even detect it. im just starting to get really nervous.

Comments (33)

Does anyone have links to any studies about the increased risk of having stillborn twins after 37 weeks? I keep hearing that general argument, but I can't find any actual data on it. The same for the placenta degrading... just general statements that it's more likely with twins.

I've also been wondering if anyone has information about the neurological effects of twins being born before 39 weeks. I can find lots of info on singletons but not twins.

After scheduling my induction, I'm rethinking it. My concern is that the twins' brains won't be fully developed at 38 weeks if they could stay in there longer and that it might have long-term consequences for them. I'm thinking of asking to move my induction date back a week, but I'm in pretty much chronic pain due to my belly size, so there has to be a darn good reason to do so!

Thanks for the tip about the MoD. I checked their website and it says that their research focuses on singleton pregnancies. I couldn't find anything relating to multiples other than a general overview of a multiple pregnancy.

I'm also assuming that a lot of the recommendations about 37 weeks comes from the "world's largest" twin birth study by the University of Adelaide. I don't doubt their findings, but I question the long-term impact. The researchers talk about babies being lower in birth weight for their gestational age if allowed to go past 37 weeks. That's probably true, as they run out of space, but it does't talk about neurological or other development which likely wouldn't present until much later in life for the twins. So, I'm skeptical because I feel like the researchers only addressed one or two facets of twin birth

My babies have measured really large from the get-go (even though I know u/s can be inaccurate) so I'm not worried about their birth weights.

I know I could go into labor at any point and that's fine, but with my induction only 6 days away and no sign of labor yet, I'm re-evaluating everything.

I carried mine right until 39 weeks and went into labor on my own. I had my last appt 2 days prior and she told me they would induce me if I got to my next appt, at 39 weeks. Well, I never made it:) I also didn't have one complication throughout my prenancy.